> I am looking for the best, simplist solution for the following problems.
>
> 1. Sharing tracks with other users, printing them on maps and aerial
> photos.
>
> 2. Importing tracks from other users.

Are these 'other users' people who would agree to use a common set of software or would you want to do this without needing to have such common platforms.

There are a variety of websites that facilitate exchange of tracklogs. A couple examples are www.everytrail.com which emphasizes sharing of trip experiences along with pictures and notes in addition to the tracks, and www.trailregistry.com which focuses more on hiking trails with more emphasis on the tracklogs.

>
> 3. Ability to switch between 3d topo and 3d aerial photos

Google Earth is a good way to see 3D photo views. DeLorme's TopoUSA and 3DTopoQuads are good for seeing both topo map and photo views. The 3D-TopoQuad maps are based on USGS1:24000 series maps and are far more detailed than the TopoUSA ones. Neither will let you transfer the maps themselves to a Garmin GPS receiver.

>
> 4. Ability to use 1:24,000 topos on Garmin 60 CS.

Garmin offers these for National Park and selected other recreation areas. You can also create your own topomaps with equivalent detail for use on Garmin receivers by following the instructions at:http://home.cinci.rr.com/creek/garmin.htm

>
> 1. Sharing tracks with other users, printing them on maps and
> aerial photos.

This would be handled by saving your track as a gpx file, for the
most part. The GPX is text, so you could email it or post it.http://topografix.com/gpx has a list of other programs that use gpx
directly, including gpsbabel, which further translates other program
formats.

Some of the track and waypoint sharing sites use gpx, and favor
easygps.com as a free gpx editor.

If the others that you share with don't have a program already, they
could use Google Earth for display.

http://www.chrislacy.net/map works to display GPX files in fireFox,
but doesn't work with Internet Explorer. It follows a track on
screen, but doesn't scroll the screen when it gets to the edge...
Pretty good, though.

> 2. Importing tracks from other users.

gpx would be good for that, or gpsbabel could probably translate.

> 5. Ability to associate digital phots with waypoints and display
> them when clicked on.

That would be part of Google Earth.

> I know some of this has been covered before but I have had trouble
> teasing it out of the archives.

That's because everyone has assembled their own set of favorites.
I use Garmin Mapsource, ExpertGPS, and Google Earth.

---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

Marjory

... Something called Earthmate Image Tagger came with the DeLorme topo program I bought. Its help file says an easy-to-use program that lets you link your

> > 5. Ability to associate digital phots with waypoints and display
> > them when clicked on.
>
> That would be part of Google Earth.

Something called Earthmate Image Tagger came with the DeLorme topo
program I bought. Its help file says "an easy-to-use program that
lets you link your digital photographs to a GPS log so you can see
exactly where you took a picture along your trip." I gave it one try
without any success, and haven't gotten back to it since. You can
Google it to learn more.

Marjory

johnatyson

... I had pretty much the same experience with Earthmate Image Tagger; if someone has actually been able to use it, maybe they could explain it to us :-) John

> Something called Earthmate Image Tagger came with the DeLorme topo
> program I bought. Its help file says "an easy-to-use program that
> lets you link your digital photographs to a GPS log so you can see
> exactly where you took a picture along your trip." I gave it one try
> without any success, and haven't gotten back to it since. You can
> Google it to learn more.
>
> Marjory
>

I had pretty much the same experience with Earthmate Image Tagger; if
someone has actually been able to use it, maybe they could explain it to
us :-)

John

clarencedold

... I try to stay away from propietary add-ons from one vendor. They make it hard to share things. I ve abandoned Delorme, so I would be out of step with my

> Something called Earthmate Image Tagger came with the DeLorme topo
> program I bought.

I try to stay away from propietary add-ons from one vendor. They make
it hard to share things. I've abandoned Delorme, so I would be out of
step with my own notes if I had used a Delorme product for photo
tagging.